Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced the launch of the world’s longest commercial flight between Singapore and New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport on the new Airbus A350-900ULR (ultra-long-range), which will begin services on 11 October this year.

The route will be served three times a week initially from 11 October, departing Singapore on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Daily operations will commence from 18 October, after an additional A350-900ULR aircraft enters service. SIA is the world’s first customer for the new A350-900ULR. Flights will cover a distance of 9,000nm and travelling time will be up to 18 hours and 45 minutes.

“Singapore Airlines has always taken pride in pushing the boundaries to provide the best possible travel convenience for our customers, and we are pleased to be leading the way with these new non-stop flights using the latest-technology, ultra-long-range Airbus A350-900ULR,” says SIA’s CEO, Mr Goh Choon Phong.

The A350-900ULR will offer customers a more luxurious travelling experience with features like higher ceilings, larger windows and lighting designed to reduce jet lag.

SIA currently serves New York’s JFK Airport daily via Frankfurt. Other United States destinations include Houston (five times weekly via Manchester), Los Angeles (daily via Seoul and daily via Tokyo) and San Francisco (daily non-stop from Singapore as well as daily via Hong Kong).

Non-stop Singapore–Los Angeles flights are also planned with the A350-900ULR, details of which will be announced at a later date.

This article was originally published in the July 2018 issue of SilverKris magazine.